BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team started its postseason with a solid start Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Championships on the Legacy Course at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.
“I thought we showed a lot of toughness today in some pretty tough conditions, and for that, I’m so dang proud,” head coach Greg Allen said.
A 10-over-par team score put the Commodores in seventh out of 14 teams headed into Thursday’s second round. The top eight teams through 54 holes advance to the first day of match play on Saturday.
The par-72 course playing at 6,331 yards certainly challenged the field of top SEC golfers. No team is under par through 18 holes and the average score among the individual field was 75.23.
The Dores were led by senior Auston Kim, who is 1-under and currently in a two-way tie for sixth. Kim went bogey-free on the front nine and fired four birdies during the opening round. Out of 70 individuals, Kim was one of seven under par. She also leads the field in par-5 scoring (3-under) and her four birdies ties for third in the field.
“Auston (Kim) looked as good yesterday in the practice round as I’ve seen her this spring and it was nice to see that carry over into today,” Allen said.
Senior @AustonTKim is 1⃣ of 7⃣ players under par after 18 holes today at the @SEC Championships.#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/NcjwAAf1lt
— Vanderbilt Women's Golf (@VandyWGolf) April 14, 2022
Junior Celina Sattelkau is two strokes behind Kim at 1-over and is in an 11-way tie for 11th.
Junior Jayna Choi goes into Thursday tied for 41st at 4-over, while fifth-year senior Louise Yu and junior Tess Davenport are in a three-way tie for 56th. Yu overcame a quadruple bogey on No. 9 to finish the back nine bogey-free, including a birdie on No. 4.
“The wind was really tough to figure out as it was very gusty and swirling,” Allen said. “We remained calm in the chaos and that’s what we must continue to do the next two days.”
No. 21 Auburn leads the field at even-par, while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 11 Florida round out the top three in a tie for second. In the individual medalist competition, Florida’s Marina Escobar Domingo sits in first at 5-under par, while Julia Gregg of Arkansas is one-stroke behind at 4-under par. Chiara Tamburlini of Ole Miss and Megan Schofill of Auburn round out the top three in the individual standings.
Davenport will begin play for the Dores in the second round with an 8 a.m. start from the first hole Thursday. Live scoring for the event can be found here.
